Month: June 2015

A symbol of prosperous wealth and prestige, the rarest of diamonds were once in the possession of royalties, world leaders and noble dynasties of the past. With valuable diamonds changing hands to the highest bidder at auctions till this day, we are holding our collective breathes for the first billion dollar diamond being sold.  Let’s take a look at some of the world’s most expensive diamonds ever recorded in history.

Cullinan I

The Cullinan I came from the largest rough gem quality diamond ever found, The Cullinan at 3106.75 carats. The pear shape diamond weighs at 530.2 carat and is known as the Star of Africa. Cullinan I is kept in the Tower of London amongst the British Crown Jewels. It is valued at USD 400 million.

Hope Diamond

The hope diamond is a 45.52 carats large cushion antique brilliant diamond being held for exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The diamond is described as fancy dark greyish blue or dark blue in colour. It was once owned by King Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette and Harry Winston. The value of this diamond is estimated between USD 250 to 350 million.

De Beers Centenary Diamond

The De Beers Centenary Diamond is the third largest diamond to have ever been produced in the Premier Mine at 273.85 carats. It is graded D in colour by GIA and classed as flawless. It is currently valued at USD 100 million; however, the current owner remained anonymous.

The Pink Star

The Pink Star, formerly known as the Steinmetz Pink, weighs 59.60 carat and described as fancy vivid pink by GIA. It was mined by De Beers in 1999. In 2013 the Pink Star was auctioned by Sotheby’s in Geneva, fetching a world record USD 83.2 million.

Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond

The Wittelsbach-Graff diamond is a 35.36 carats fancy deep blue diamond that was part of the Austrian and Bavarian crown jewels. A celebrated stone that is rich in history, it was originally owned by King Philip IV of Spain and allegedly sold for USD 80 Million to a Sheik in Qatar.

Graff Pink

Graff Pink is a 24.78 carat rare pink diamond once owned by Harry Winston. At the Sotheby’s auction it was sold for USD 46 Million by diamond dealer Laurence Graff. The gem is graded by GIA as fancy intense pink and has been assessed as diamond type IIa, placing it in the top 2% of the world’s diamonds.

Moussaieff Red Diamond

The Moussaieff Red is a fancy red trilliant cut diamond discovered in the 1990 in Brazil. It weighs 5.11 carats and is known as the world’s largest red diamond ever found. It is valued at USD 20 million.

Archduke Joseph diamond

Archduke Joseph diamond is named after a Hungarian prince. It is a colourless, antique cushion-shaped diamond and weighs 78.54 carat, graded as D colour and Internally Flawless by GIA. The diamond was found in the famous Golconda mines, where many historical diamonds originated from. In 2012 the diamond was sold for USD 21.4 million at Christie’s auction.

Koh-i-Noor

The Mountain of Light or Koh-i-Noor is a diamond that was mined in India and was once owned by various Sultans, Emperors and war lords in Central Asia before it came into the possession of Queen Victoria in 1800s.  It weighs 105.602 carats and possibly the most valuable and significant diamond in the world.  Today the diamond is a part of the British Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.